Scatter Properties

Scatter chart appearance and behavior

Scatter properties control the appearance and behavior of Scatter object. By changing property values, you can modify certain aspects of the scatter chart. Use dot notation to query and set properties.

s = scatter(1:10,1:10);
m = s.Marker;
s.Marker = '*';

Markers

Marker — Marker symbol

'o' (default) | '+' | '*' | '.' | 'x' | ...

Marker symbol, specified as one of the options listed in this table:

Marker	Description	Resulting Marker
"o"	Circle
"+"	Plus sign
"*"	Asterisk
"."	Point
"x"	Cross
"_"	Horizontal line
"|"	Vertical line
"square"	Square
"diamond"	Diamond
"^"	Upward-pointing triangle
"v"	Downward-pointing triangle
">"	Right-pointing triangle
"<"	Left-pointing triangle
"pentagram"	Pentagram
"hexagram"	Hexagram
"none"	No markers	Not applicable

LineWidth — Width of marker edge

0.5 (default) | positive value

Width of marker edge, specified as a positive value in point units.

Example: 0.75

MarkerEdgeColor — Marker outline color

"flat" (default) | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | "r" | "g" | "b" | ...

Marker outline color, specified "flat", an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The default value of "flat" uses colors from the CData property.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"
"none"	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	No color

Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB^® uses in many types of plots.

RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]	"#0072BD"
[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]	"#D95319"
[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]	"#EDB120"
[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]	"#7E2F8E"
[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]	"#77AC30"
[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]	"#4DBEEE"
[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]	"#A2142F"

Example: [0.5 0.5 0.5]

Example: "blue"

Example: "#D2F9A7"

MarkerFaceColor — Marker fill color

"none" (default) | "flat" | "auto" | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | "r" | "g" | "b" | ...

Marker fill color, specified as "flat", "auto", an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The "flat" option uses the CData values. The "auto" option uses the same color as the Color property for the axes.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"
"none"	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	No color

Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB uses in many types of plots.

RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]	"#0072BD"
[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]	"#D95319"
[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]	"#EDB120"
[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]	"#7E2F8E"
[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]	"#77AC30"
[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]	"#4DBEEE"
[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]	"#A2142F"

Example: [0.3 0.2 0.1]

Example: "green"

Example: "#D2F9A7"

MarkerEdgeAlpha — Marker edge transparency

1 (default) | scalar in range [0,1] | 'flat'

Marker edge transparency, specified as a scalar in the range [0,1] or 'flat'. A value of 1 is opaque and 0 is completely transparent. Values between 0 and 1 are semitransparent.

To set the edge transparency to a different value for each point in the plot, set the AlphaData property to a vector the same size as the XData property, and set the MarkerEdgeAlpha property to 'flat'.

MarkerFaceAlpha — Marker face transparency

1 (default) | scalar in range [0,1] | 'flat'

Marker face transparency, specified as a scalar in the range [0,1] or 'flat'. A value of 1 is opaque and 0 is completely transparent. Values between 0 and 1 are semitransparent.

To set the marker face transparency to a different value for each point in the plot, set the AlphaData property to a vector the same size as the XData property, and set the MarkerFaceAlpha property to 'flat'.

AlphaData — Marker face transparency

1 (default) | array the same size as XData

Transparency data for each plotted point, specified as an array the same size as the XData property. After specifying the values, set the MarkerFaceAlpha and MarkerEdgeAlpha properties to control the type of transparency. If the MarkerFaceAlpha and MarkerEdgeAlpha properties are both set to scalar values, then the Scatter object does not use the AlphaData values.

The AlphaDataMapping property determines how the Scatter object interprets the AlphaData property values.

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | logical

AlphaDataMode — Control how AlphaData is set

'auto' | 'manual'

Control how the AlphaData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — MATLAB controls the value of the AlphaData property. The value can be:

  • The default value of the AlphaData property.

  • The values in a table variable. The SourceTable property specifies the table, and the AlphaVariable property specifies the variable. If either the SourceTable or AlphaVariable properties are empty, the default AlphaData value is used.

• 'manual' — The AlphaData property is set directly and does not update automatically.

AlphaDataMapping — Interpretation of AlphaData values

'scaled' (default) | 'direct' | 'none'

Interpretation of AlphaData values, specified as one of these values:

• 'none' — Interpret the values as transparency values. A value of 1 or greater is completely opaque, a value of 0 or less is completely transparent, and a value between 0 and 1 is semitransparent.

• 'scaled' — Map the values into the figure’s alphamap. The minimum and maximum alpha limits of the axes determine the AlphaData values that map to the first and last elements in the alphamap, respectively. For example, if the alpha limits are [3 5], then values of 3 or less map to the first element in the alphamap. Values of 5 or greater map to the last element in the alphamap. The ALim property of the axes contains the alpha limits. The Alphamap property of the figure contains the alphamap.

• 'direct' — Interpret the values as indices into the figure’s alphamap. Values with a decimal portion are fixed to the nearest lower integer.

  • If the values are of type double or single, then values of 1 or less map to the first element in the alphamap. Values equal to or greater than the length of the alphamap map to the last element in the alphamap.

  • If the values are of integer type, then values of 0 or less map to the first element in the alphamap. Values equal to or greater than the length of the alphamap map to the last element in the alphamap (or up to maximum value for the integer type). The integer types are uint8, uint16, uint32, uint64 , int8, int16, int32, and int64.

  • If the values are of type logical, then values of 0 map to the first element in the alphamap and values of 1 map to the second element in the alphamap.

Color and Size Data

CData — Marker colors

[] (default) | RGB triplet | matrix of RGB triplets | vector

Marker colors, specified as one of these values:

• RGB triplet — Use the same color for all the markers in the plot. An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.5 0.6 0.7].

• Three-column matrix of RGB triplets — Use a different color for each marker in the plot. Each row of the matrix defines one color. The number of rows must equal the number of markers.

• Vector — Use a different color for each marker in the plot. Specify CData as a vector the same length as XData. Linearly map the values in the vector to the colors in the current colormap.

Example: [1 0 0; 0 1 0; 0 0 1]

CDataMode — Control how CData is set

'auto' (default) | 'manual'

Control how the CData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — MATLAB controls the value of the CData property. The value can be:

  • One of the colors from the ColorOrder property of the axes. MATLAB uses the SeriesIndex property of the Scatter object and the ColorOrder property of the axes to select a color. This is the default behavior.

  • The values in a table variable. The SourceTable property specifies the table, and the ColorVariable property specifies the variable. If either of these properties are empty, then the color data comes from the ColorOrder property of the axes.

• 'manual' — You control the value of the CData property manually, either by specifying a color when you call a plotting function or by setting the CData property on the Scatter object after plotting.

CDataSource — Variable linked to CData

'' | character vector or string containing MATLAB workspace variable

Variable linked to CData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the CData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector. If you link a variable, then MATLAB does not update the CData values immediately. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Note

If you change one data source property to a variable that contains data of a different dimension, you might cause the function to generate a warning and not render the graph until you have changed all data source properties to appropriate values.

SeriesIndex — Series index

positive whole number | "none"

Series index, specified as a positive whole number or "none". This property is useful for reassigning the marker colors of Scatter objects so that they match the colors of other objects. By default, the SeriesIndex property is a number that corresponds to the object's order of creation, starting at 1.

MATLAB uses the number to calculate indices for assigning colors when you call plotting functions. The indices refer to the rows of the arrays stored in the ColorOrder property of the axes. The marker colors change when you change the Scatter object's SeriesIndex value, or when you change ColorOrder property of the axes.

A SeriesIndex value of "none" corresponds to a neutral color that does not participate in the indexing scheme. (since R2023b)

How Manual Color Assignment Overrides SeriesIndex Behavior

To manually control the fill color of the markers, use either of these approaches:

• One color for all markers — Set the MarkerFaceColor property to a color name, RGB triplet, or a hexadecimal color code.

• Different colors for all the markers — Set the MarkerFaceColor property to "flat". Then set the CData property to an RGB triplet, matrix of RGB triplets, or a vector of colormap indices.

Manually controlling the edge colors of the markers works the same way, except that you set MarkerEdgeColor property to a color value or "flat".

When you manually set the color of an object, MATLAB disables automatic color selection for that object and allows your color to persist, regardless of the value of the SeriesIndex property. The CDataMode property indicates whether the CData colors have been set manually (by you) or automatically. A value of "manual" indicates manual selection, and a value of "auto" indicates automatic selection.

Automatic color selection is disabled when you perform either of these actions:

• Set the MarkerFaceColor or MarkerEdgeColor to a value other than "flat".

• Set the CData to a color value manually.

To enable automatic selection again, set the MarkerFaceColor, MarkerEdgeColor, or both properties to "flat". Set the CDataMode property to "auto", and set the SeriesIndex property to a positive whole number.

In some cases, MATLAB sets the SeriesIndex value to 0, which also disables automatic color selection.

SizeData — Marker sizes

[] (default) | scalar | vector

Marker sizes, specified in one of these forms:

• Scalar — Use the same size for all of the markers.

• Vector — Use a different size for each marker. Specify SizeData as a vector the same length as XData.

Specify the values in point units, where one point equals 1/72 inch. To specify a marker that has an area of one square inch, use a value of 72^2.

Example: 50

SizeDataMode — Control how SizeData is set

'auto' | 'manual'

Control how the SizeData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — MATLAB controls the value of the SizeData property. The value can be:

  • The default value of the SizeData property.

  • The values in a table variable. The SourceTable property specifies the table, and the SizeVariable property specifies the variable. If either the SourceTable or SizeVariable properties are empty, the default SizeData value is used.

• 'manual' — You set the SizeData property directly; it does not change.

SizeDataSource — Variable linked to SizeData

'' | character vector or string containing MATLAB workspace variable

Variable linked to SizeData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the SizeData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector. If you link a variable, then MATLAB does not update the SizeData values. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Note

If you change one data source property to a variable that contains data of a different dimension, you might cause the function to generate a warning and not render the graph until you have changed all data source properties to appropriate values.

Cartesian Coordinate Data

XData — x values

[] (default) | scalar | vector

x values, specified as a scalar or a vector. The scatter plot displays an individual marker for each value in XData.

The input argument x to the plotting function sets the x values. XData and YData must have equal lengths.

Example: [1 2 4 2 6]

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | categorical | datetime | duration

XDataMode — Control how XData is set

'auto' | 'manual'

Control how the XData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — The XData property updates automatically based on the SourceTable and XVariable properties. This is the case when you pass a table to any of the Cartesian scatter plotting functions (such as scatter or scatter3).

• 'manual' — The XData property is set directly and does not update automatically. This is the case when you pass coordinate values as vectors or matrices to any of the Cartesian scatter plotting functions.

XDataSource — Variable linked to XData

'' (default) | character vector | string

Variable linked to XData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable name. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the XData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector, ''. If you link a variable, then MATLAB does not update the XData values immediately. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Note

If you change one data source property to a variable that contains data of a different dimension, you might cause the function to generate a warning and not render the graph until you have changed all data source properties to appropriate values.

Example: 'x'

YData — y values

[] (default) | scalar | vector

y values, specified as a scalar or a vector. The scatter plot displays an individual marker for each value in YData.

The input argument y to the plotting function sets the y values. XData and YData must have equal lengths.

Example: [1 3 3 4 6]

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | categorical | datetime | duration

YDataMode — Control how YData is set

'auto' | 'manual'

Control how the YData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — The YData property updates automatically based on the SourceTable and YVariable properties. This is the case when you pass a table to any of the Cartesian scatter plotting functions (such as scatter or scatter3).

• 'manual' — The YData property is set directly and does not update automatically. This is the case when you pass coordinate values as vectors or matrices to any of the Cartesian scatter plotting functions.

YDataSource — Variable linked to YData

'' (default) | character vector | string

Variable linked to YData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable name. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the YData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector, ''. If you link a variable, then MATLAB does not update the YData values immediately. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Note

If you change one data source property to a variable that contains data of a different dimension, you might cause the function to generate a warning and not render the graph until you have changed all data source properties to appropriate values.

Example: 'y'

ZData — z values

[] (default) | scalar | vector

z values, specified as a scalar or a vector.

• For 2-D scatter plots, ZData is empty by default.

• For 3-D scatter plots, the input argument z to the plotting function sets the z values. XData, YData, and ZData must have equal lengths.

Example: [1 2 2 1 0]

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | categorical | datetime | duration

ZDataMode — Control how ZData is set

'auto' | 'manual'

Control how the ZData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — The ZData property updates automatically based on the SourceTable and ZVariable properties. This is the case when you pass a table to any of the Cartesian scatter plotting functions (such as scatter or scatter3).

• 'manual' — The ZData property is set directly and does not update automatically. This is the case when you pass coordinate values as vectors or matrices to any of the Cartesian scatter plotting functions.

ZDataSource — Variable linked to ZData

'' (default) | character vector | string

Variable linked to ZData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable name. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the ZData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector, ''. If you link a variable, then MATLAB does not update the ZData values immediately. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Note

If you change one data source property to a variable that contains data of a different dimension, you might cause the function to generate a warning and not render the graph until you have changed all data source properties to appropriate values.

Example: 'z'

XJitter — Jitter type for x-dimension

'none' | 'density' | 'rand' | 'randn'

Type of jitter (spacing of points) along the x-dimension, specified as one of the following values:

• 'none' — Do not jitter the points.

• 'density' — Jitter the points using the kernel density estimate of y for 2-D charts. If you specify this option in two dimensions for a 3-D chart, the points are jittered based on the kernel density estimate in the third dimension. For example, setting XJitter and YJitter to 'density' uses the kernel density estimate of z.

• 'rand' — Jitter the points randomly with a uniform distribution.

• 'randn' — Jitter points randomly with a normal distribution.

XJitterWidth — Maximum jitter along x-dimension

nonnegative scalar

Maximum amount of jitter (offset between points) along the x-dimension, specified as a nonnegative scalar value in data units.

For example, to set the jitter width to 90% of the shortest distance between adjacent points, take the minimum distance between unique values of x and scale by 0.9.

XJitterWidth = 0.9 * min(diff(unique(x)));

YJitter — Jitter type for y-dimension

'none' | 'density' | 'rand' | 'randn'

Type of jitter (spacing of points) along the y-dimension, specified as one of the following values:

• 'none' — Do not jitter the points.

• 'density' — Jitter the points using the kernel density estimate of x for 2-D charts. If you specify this option in two dimensions for a 3-D chart, the points are jittered based on the kernel density estimate in the third dimension. For example, setting XJitter and YJitter to 'density' uses the kernel density estimate of z.

• 'rand' — Jitter the points randomly with a uniform distribution.

• 'randn' — Jitter points randomly with a normal distribution.

YJitterWidth — Maximum jitter along y-dimension

nonnegative scalar

Maximum amount of jitter (offset between points) along the y-dimension, specified as a nonnegative scalar value in data units.

For example, to set the jitter width to 90% of the shortest distance between adjacent points, take the minimum distance between unique values of y and scale by 0.9.

YJitterWidth = 0.9 * min(diff(unique(y)));

ZJitter — Jitter type for z-dimension

'none' (default) | 'density' | 'rand' | 'randn'

Type of jitter (spacing of points) along the z-dimension, specified as one of the following values:

• 'none' — Do not jitter the points.

• 'density' —Jitter the points using the kernel density estimate of y. Or, if you specify this option in one additional dimension, the points are jittered based on the kernel density estimate in the third dimension. For example, setting YJitter and ZJitter to 'density' uses the kernel density estimate of x.

• 'rand' — Jitter the points randomly with a uniform distribution.

• 'randn' — Jitter points randomly with a normal distribution.

ZJitterWidth — Maximum jitter along z-dimension

nonnegative scalar

Maximum amount of jitter (offset between points) along the z-dimension in data units, specified as a nonnegative scalar value.

For example, to set the jitter width to 90% of the shortest distance between adjacent points, take the minimum distance between unique values of z and scale by 0.9.

ZJitterWidth = 0.9 * min(diff(unique(z)));

Polar Coordinate Data

RData — Radius values

vector

Radius values, specified as a vector. ThetaData and RData must be vectors of equal length.

This property applies only to polar axes.

RDataMode — Control how RData is set

'auto' | 'manual'

Control how the RData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — The RData property updates automatically based on the SourceTable and RVariable properties. This is the case when you pass a table to the polarscatter or scatter functions.

• 'manual' — The RData property is set directly and does not update automatically. This is the case when you pass coordinate values as vectors or matrices to the polarscatter or scatter functions.

RDataSource — Variable linked to RData

'' (default) | character vector or string containing MATLAB workspace variable name

Variable linked to RData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable name. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the RData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector, ''. If you link a variable, then MATLAB does not update the RData values immediately. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Note

If you change one data source property to a variable that contains data of a different dimension, you might cause the function to generate a warning and not render the graph until you have changed all data source properties to appropriate values.

This property applies only to polar axes.

ThetaData — Angle values

vector

Angle values, specified as a vector. ThetaData and RData must be vectors of equal length.

This property applies only to polar axes.

ThetaDataMode — Control how ThetaData is set

'auto' | 'manual'

Control how the ThetaData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — The ThetaData property updates automatically based on the SourceTable and ThetaVariable properties. This is the case when you pass a table to the polarscatter or scatter functions.

• 'manual' — The ThetaData property is set directly and does not update automatically. This is the case when you pass coordinate values as vectors or matrices to the polarscatter or scatter functions.

ThetaDataSource — Variable linked to ThetaData

'' (default) | character vector or string containing MATLAB workspace variable name

Variable linked to ThetaData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable name. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the RData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector, ''. If you link a variable, then MATLAB does not update the ThetaData values immediately. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Note

If you change one data source property to a variable that contains data of a different dimension, you might cause the function to generate a warning and not render the graph until you have changed all data source properties to appropriate values.

This property applies only to polar axes.

Geographic Coordinate Data

LatitudeData — Latitude values

vector

Latitude values, specified as a vector. LatitudeData and LongitudeData must be vectors of equal length.

This property applies only to geographic axes.

LatitudeDataMode — Control how LatitudeData is set

'auto' | 'manual'

Control how the LatitudeData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — The LatitudeData property updates automatically based on the SourceTable and LatitudeVariable properties. This is the case when you pass a table to a plotting function.

• 'manual' — The LatitudeData property is set directly and does not update automatically. This is the case when you pass coordinate values as vectors or matrices to a plotting function.

This property applies only to geographic axes.

LatitudeDataSource — Variable linked to LatitudeData

'' (default) | character vector or string containing MATLAB workspace variable name

Variable linked to LatitudeData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable name. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the RData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector, ''. If you link a variable, MATLAB does not update the LatitudeData values immediately. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Note

If you change one data source property to a variable that contains data of a different dimension, you might cause the function to generate a warning and not render the graph until you have changed all data source properties to appropriate values.

This property applies only to geographic axes.

LongitudeData — Longitude values

vector

Longitude values, specified as a vector. LongitudeData and LatitudeData must be vectors of equal length.

This property applies only to geographic axes.

LongitudeDataMode — Control how LongitudeData is set

'auto' | 'manual'

Control how the LongitudeData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — The LongitudeData property updates automatically based on the SourceTable and LongitudeVariable properties. This is the case when you pass a table to a plotting function.

• 'manual' — The LongitudeData property is set directly and does not update automatically. This is the case when you pass coordinate values as vectors or matrices to a plotting function.

This property applies only to geographic axes.

LongitudeDataSource — Variable linked to LongitudeData

'' (default) | character vector or string containing MATLAB workspace variable name

Variable linked to LongitudeData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable name. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the RData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector, ''. If you link a variable, MATLAB does not update the LatitudeData values immediately. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Note

If you change one data source property to a variable that contains data of a different dimension, you might cause the function to generate a warning and not render the graph until you have changed all data source properties to appropriate values.

This property applies only to geographic axes.

Table Data (Since R2021b)

SourceTable — Source table

table | timetable

Source table containing the data to plot. Specify this property as a table or a timetable.

XVariable — Table variable containing x-coordinates

string scalar | character vector | pattern | numeric scalar | logical vector | vartype()

Table variable containing the x-coordinates, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the following table. The variable you specify can contain numeric, categorical, datetime, or duration values. When you set this property, MATLAB updates the XData property.

This table lists the different indexing schemes you can use to specify the table variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

YVariable — Table variable containing y-coordinates

string scalar | character vector | pattern | numeric scalar | logical vector | vartype()

Table variable containing the y-coordinates, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the following table. The variable you specify can contain numeric, categorical, datetime, or duration values. When you set this property, MATLAB updates the YData property.

This table lists the different indexing schemes you can use to specify the table variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

ZVariable — Table variable containing z-coordinates

string scalar | character vector | pattern | numeric scalar | logical vector | vartype()

Table variable containing the z-coordinates, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the following table. The variable you specify can contain numeric, categorical, datetime, or duration values. When you set this property, MATLAB updates the ZData property.

This table lists the different indexing schemes you can use to specify the table variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

RVariable — Table variable containing radius values

string array | character vector | cell array | pattern | numeric scalar or vector | logical vector | vartype()

Table variable containing the radius values, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the following table. The variable you specify can contain any type of numeric values. When you set this property, MATLAB updates the RData property.

Here is a list of the different indexing schemes you can use to specify the table variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

ThetaVariable — Table variable containing angle values

string array | character vector | cell array | pattern | numeric scalar or vector | logical vector | vartype()

Table variable containing the angle values, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the following table. The variable you specify can contain any type of numeric values. When you set this property, MATLAB updates the ThetaData property.

Here is a list of the different indexing schemes you can use to specify the table variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

LatitudeVariable — Table variable containing latitude values

table variable index

Table variable containing the latitude values for geographic plots, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the following table. When you set this property, MATLAB updates the LatitudeData property.

Here is a list of the different indexing schemes you can use to specify the table variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

LongitudeVariable — Table variable containing longitude values

table variable index

Table variable containing the longitude values for geographic plots, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the following table. When you set this property, MATLAB updates the LongitudeData property.

Here is a list of the different indexing schemes you can use to specify the table variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

SizeVariable — Table variable containing marker size data

table variable index

Table variable containing marker size data, specified as a variable index into the source table.

Specifying the Table Index

Use any of the following indexing schemes to specify the desired variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

Specifying Size Data

The variable you specify can contain any numeric type. When you set the SizeVariable property, MATLAB updates the SizeData property.

ColorVariable — Table variable containing color data

table variable index

Table variable containing the color data, specified as a variable index into the source table.

Specifying the Table Index

Use any of the following indexing schemes to specify the desired variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

Specifying Color Data

Specifying the ColorVariable property controls the colors of the markers. The data in the variable controls the marker fill color when the MarkerFaceColor property is set to "flat". The data can also control the marker outline color, when the MarkerEdgeColor is set to "flat".

The table variable you specify can contain values of any numeric type. The values can be in either of the following forms:

• A column of numbers that linearly map into the current colormap.

• A three-column array of RGB triplets. RGB triplets are three-element vectors whose values specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of specific colors. The intensities must be in the range [0,1]. For example, [0.5 0.7 1] specifies a shade of light blue.

When you set the ColorVariable property, MATLAB updates the CData property.

AlphaVariable — Table variable containing marker transparency data

table variable index

Table variable containing transparency data, specified as a variable index into the source table.

Specifying the Table Index

Use any of the following indexing schemes to specify the desired variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

Specifying Transparency Data

The data in the variable you specify controls the transparency of the markers. Smaller values are more transparent, and larger values are more opaque. The values can be any numeric type.

After setting the AlphaVariable property, set the MarkerFaceAlpha and MarkerEdgeAlpha properties to control the type of transparency. If the MarkerFaceAlpha and MarkerEdgeAlpha properties are both set to scalar values, then the scatter object does not use the data from the table.

When you set this property, MATLAB updates the AlphaData property.

Legend

DisplayName — Legend label

'' (default) | character vector | string scalar

Legend label, specified as a character vector or string scalar. The legend does not display until you call the legend command. If you do not specify the text, then legend sets the label using the form 'dataN'.

Annotation — Include object in legend

Annotation object

Include the object in the legend, specified as an Annotation object. Set the underlying IconDisplayStyle property of the Annotation object to one of these values:

• "on" — Include the object in the legend (default).

• "off" — Do not include the object in the legend.

For example, to exclude the Scatter object named obj from the legend, set the IconDisplayStyle property to "off".

obj.Annotation.LegendInformation.IconDisplayStyle = "off";

Alternatively, you can control the items in a legend using the legend function. Specify the first input argument as a vector of the graphics objects to include. If you do not specify an existing graphics object in the first input argument, then it does not appear in the legend. However, graphics objects added to the axes after the legend is created do appear in the legend. Consider creating the legend after creating all the plots to avoid extra items.

Interactivity

Visible — State of visibility

"on" (default) | on/off logical value

State of visibility, specified as "on" or "off", or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of "on" is equivalent to true, and "off" is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• "on" — Display the object.

• "off" — Hide the object without deleting it. You still can access the properties of an invisible object.

DataTipTemplate — Data tip content

DataTipTemplate object

Data tip content, specified as a DataTipTemplate object. You can control the content that appears in a data tip by modifying the properties of the underlying DataTipTemplate object. For a list of properties, see DataTipTemplate Properties.

For an example of modifying data tips, see Create Custom Data Tips.

Note

The DataTipTemplate object is not returned by findobj or findall, and it is not copied by copyobj.

ContextMenu — Context menu

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array (default) | ContextMenu object

Context menu, specified as a ContextMenu object. Use this property to display a context menu when you right-click the object. Create the context menu using the uicontextmenu function.

Note

If the PickableParts property is set to 'none' or if the HitTest property is set to 'off', then the context menu does not appear.

Selected — Selection state

'off' (default) | on/off logical value

Selection state, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• 'on' — Selected. If you click the object when in plot edit mode, then MATLAB sets its Selected property to 'on'. If the SelectionHighlight property also is set to 'on', then MATLAB displays selection handles around the object.

• 'off' — Not selected.

SelectionHighlight — Display of selection handles

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Display of selection handles when selected, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• 'on' — Display selection handles when the Selected property is set to 'on'.

• 'off' — Never display selection handles, even when the Selected property is set to 'on'.

Clipping — Clipping of object to axes limits

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Clipping of the object to the axes limits, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• A value of 'on' clips parts of the object that are outside the axes limits.

• A value of 'off' displays the entire object, even if parts of it appear outside the axes limits. Parts of the object might appear outside the axes limits if you create a plot, set hold on, freeze the axis scaling, and then create the object so that it is larger than the original plot.

The Clipping property of the axes that contains the object must be set to 'on'. Otherwise, this property has no effect. For more information about the clipping behavior, see the Clipping property of the axes.

Callbacks

ButtonDownFcn — Mouse-click callback

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Mouse-click callback, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle

• Cell array containing a function handle and additional arguments

• Character vector that is a valid MATLAB command or function, which is evaluated in the base workspace (not recommended)

Use this property to execute code when you click the object. If you specify this property using a function handle, then MATLAB passes two arguments to the callback function when executing the callback:

• Clicked object — Access properties of the clicked object from within the callback function.

• Event data — Empty argument. Replace it with the tilde character (~) in the function definition to indicate that this argument is not used.

For more information on how to use function handles to define callback functions, see Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

Note

If the PickableParts property is set to 'none' or if the HitTest property is set to 'off', then this callback does not execute.

CreateFcn — Creation function

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Object creation function, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle.

• Cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• Character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

For more information about specifying a callback as a function handle, cell array, or character vector, see Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

This property specifies a callback function to execute when MATLAB creates the object. MATLAB initializes all property values before executing the CreateFcn callback. If you do not specify the CreateFcn property, then MATLAB executes a default creation function.

Setting the CreateFcn property on an existing component has no effect.

If you specify this property as a function handle or cell array, you can access the object that is being created using the first argument of the callback function. Otherwise, use the gcbo function to access the object.

DeleteFcn — Deletion function

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Object deletion function, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle.

• Cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• Character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

For more information about specifying a callback as a function handle, cell array, or character vector, see Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

This property specifies a callback function to execute when MATLAB deletes the object. MATLAB executes the DeleteFcn callback before destroying the properties of the object. If you do not specify the DeleteFcn property, then MATLAB executes a default deletion function.

If you specify this property as a function handle or cell array, you can access the object that is being deleted using the first argument of the callback function. Otherwise, use the gcbo function to access the object.

Callback Execution Control

Interruptible — Callback interruption

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Callback interruption, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

This property determines if a running callback can be interrupted. There are two callback states to consider:

• The running callback is the currently executing callback.

• The interrupting callback is a callback that tries to interrupt the running callback.

MATLAB determines callback interruption behavior whenever it executes a command that processes the callback queue. These commands include drawnow, figure, uifigure, getframe, waitfor, and pause.

If the running callback does not contain one of these commands, then no interruption occurs. MATLAB first finishes executing the running callback, and later executes the interrupting callback.

If the running callback does contain one of these commands, then the Interruptible property of the object that owns the running callback determines if the interruption occurs:

• If the value of Interruptible is 'off', then no interruption occurs. Instead, the BusyAction property of the object that owns the interrupting callback determines if the interrupting callback is discarded or added to the callback queue.

• If the value of Interruptible is 'on', then the interruption occurs. The next time MATLAB processes the callback queue, it stops the execution of the running callback and executes the interrupting callback. After the interrupting callback completes, MATLAB then resumes executing the running callback.

Note

Callback interruption and execution behave differently in these situations:

• If the interrupting callback is a DeleteFcn, CloseRequestFcn, or SizeChangedFcn callback, then the interruption occurs regardless of the Interruptible property value.

• If the running callback is currently executing the waitfor function, then the interruption occurs regardless of the Interruptible property value.

• If the interrupting callback is owned by a Timer object, then the callback executes according to schedule regardless of the Interruptible property value.

Note

When an interruption occurs, MATLAB does not save the state of properties or the display. For example, the object returned by the gca or gcf command might change when another callback executes.

BusyAction — Callback queuing

'queue' (default) | 'cancel'

Callback queuing, specified as 'queue' or 'cancel'. The BusyAction property determines how MATLAB handles the execution of interrupting callbacks. There are two callback states to consider:

• The running callback is the currently executing callback.

• The interrupting callback is a callback that tries to interrupt the running callback.

The BusyAction property determines callback queuing behavior only when both of these conditions are met:

• The running callback contains a command that processes the callback queue, such as drawnow, figure, uifigure, getframe, waitfor, or pause.

• The value of the Interruptible property of the object that owns the running callback is 'off'.

Under these conditions, the BusyAction property of the object that owns the interrupting callback determines how MATLAB handles the interrupting callback. These are possible values of the BusyAction property:

• 'queue' — Puts the interrupting callback in a queue to be processed after the running callback finishes execution.

• 'cancel' — Does not execute the interrupting callback.

PickableParts — Ability to capture mouse clicks

'visible' (default) | 'none'

Ability to capture mouse clicks, specified as one of these values:

• 'visible' — Capture mouse clicks when visible. The Visible property must be set to 'on' and you must click a part of the Scatter object that has a defined color. You cannot click a part that has an associated color property set to 'none'. If the plot contains markers, then the entire marker is clickable if either the edge or the fill has a defined color. The HitTest property determines if the Scatter object responds to the click or if an ancestor does.

• 'none' — Cannot capture mouse clicks. Clicking the Scatter object passes the click to the object below it in the current view of the figure window. The HitTest property of the Scatter object has no effect.

HitTest — Response to captured mouse clicks

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Response to captured mouse clicks, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• 'on' — Trigger the ButtonDownFcn callback of the Scatter object. If you have defined the ContextMenu property, then invoke the context menu.

• 'off' — Trigger the callbacks for the nearest ancestor of the Scatter object that meets one of these conditions:

  • HitTest property is set to 'on'.

  • PickableParts property is set to a value that enables the ancestor to capture mouse clicks.

Note

The PickableParts property determines if the Scatter object can capture mouse clicks. If it cannot, then the HitTest property has no effect.

BeingDeleted — Deletion status

on/off logical value

This property is read-only.

Deletion status, returned as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

MATLAB sets the BeingDeleted property to 'on' when the DeleteFcn callback begins execution. The BeingDeleted property remains set to 'on' until the component object no longer exists.

Check the value of the BeingDeleted property to verify that the object is not about to be deleted before querying or modifying it.

Parent/Child

Parent — Parent

Axes object | PolarAxes object | Group object | Transform object

Parent, specified as an Axes, PolarAxes, Group, or Transform object.

Children — Children

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array | DataTip object array

Children, returned as an empty GraphicsPlaceholder array or a DataTip object array. Use this property to view a list of data tips that are plotted on the chart.

You cannot add or remove children using the Children property. To add a child to this list, set the Parent property of the DataTip object to the chart object.

HandleVisibility — Visibility of object handle

"on" (default) | "off" | "callback"

Visibility of the object handle in the Children property of the parent, specified as one of these values:

• "on" — Object handle is always visible.

• "off" — Object handle is invisible at all times. This option is useful for preventing unintended changes by another function. Set HandleVisibility to "off" to temporarily hide the handle during the execution of that function.

• "callback" — Object handle is visible from within callbacks or functions invoked by callbacks, but not from within functions invoked from the command line. This option blocks access to the object at the command line, but permits callback functions to access it.

If the object is not listed in the Children property of the parent, then functions that obtain object handles by searching the object hierarchy or querying handle properties cannot return it. Examples of such functions include the get, findobj, gca, gcf, gco, newplot, cla, clf, and close functions.

Hidden object handles are still valid. Set the root ShowHiddenHandles property to "on" to list all object handles regardless of their HandleVisibility property setting.

Identifiers

Type — Type of graphics object

'scatter'

This property is read-only.

Type of graphics object, returned as 'scatter'. Use this property to find all objects of a given type within a plotting hierarchy, for example, searching for the type using findobj.

Tag — Object identifier

'' (default) | character vector | string scalar

Object identifier, specified as a character vector or string scalar. You can specify a unique Tag value to serve as an identifier for an object. When you need access to the object elsewhere in your code, you can use the findobj function to search for the object based on the Tag value.

UserData — User data

[] (default) | array

User data, specified as any MATLAB array. For example, you can specify a scalar, vector, matrix, cell array, character array, table, or structure. Use this property to store arbitrary data on an object.

If you are working in App Designer, create public or private properties in the app to share data instead of using the UserData property. For more information, see Share Data Within App Designer Apps.

Version History

Introduced before R2006a

R2023b: Opt out of automatic color selection with SeriesIndex="none"

Opt out of automatic color selection for Scatter objects by setting the SeriesIndex property to "none". When you specify "none", the Scatter object has a neutral color.

To enable automatic color selection again, set the SeriesIndex property to a positive whole number.

R2020a: Control automatic color selection with the SeriesIndex property

Control how Scatter objects vary in color by setting the SeriesIndex property. This property is useful when you want to match the colors of different objects in the axes.

R2020a: UIContextMenu property is not recommended

Setting or getting UIContextMenu property is not recommended. Instead, use the ContextMenu property, which accepts the same type of input and behaves the same way as the UIContextMenu property.

There are no plans to remove the UIContextMenu property, but it is no longer listed when you call the set, get, or properties functions on the Scatter object.